Matthews leads England to third grand slam in row with victory in France
England have been bathed in Women’s Six Nations glory since 2019 and the winning sunlight warmed their skin once again as their captain, Marlie Packer, lifted the trophy aloft for the Red Roses’ third successive grand slam and sixth consecutive title.
England were convincing and lethal but they did show weaknesses in defence in the second half, giving the England head coach, John Mitchell, the arm wrestle he had wanted. In the buildup to the game he was keen to take learnings from Le Crunch, especially with a home World Cup on the horizon.
They were most definitely dealt them by a ferocious France team, who went down to 14 in the 43rd minute after Assia Khalfaoui was handed a red card, but England managed to weather the storm.
Many had feared the game would be a washout with heavy rain forecast. Temperamental weather plagued the Bordeaux skies throughout the day but for a few hours before kick-off the heavens opened. It did not dampen the atmosphere, though, with some supporters in their seats two hours before kick-off and a live band sound tracked the buildup. As England emerged to warm-up, the boos mimicked the weather and rained down, just a hint of the hostility to come from the record crowd.
Fireworks and shouts of Allez les Bleus signalled kick-off and France had the first attacking scrum but England won a penalty. They kicked to the corner and employed their famous maul but the hosts defended well, forcing the Red Roses to run it through the hands and after a few phases Maud Muir was over.
The Red Roses soon opted for the maul again but France had their number. The defence was precise in stopping the maul but when the ball was whipped wide England were able to find acres of space and the tryline, this time Alex Matthews the scorer.
France were not going to be steamrolled, though, and they had the next swing in the game. Biding their time, they inched closer and the centre Gabrielle Vernier sniped to hit back. The home supporters were on a simmer before the try but the score led to the cauldron boiling over with life breathed back into France’s grand slam hopes.
An rendition of La Marseillaise reverberated around the ground but was soon silenced as the England centre, Megan Jones, intercepted a pass to score the team’s third. But the Red Roses also fell asleep in defence, Pauline Bourdon Sansus carved them open and fed Marine Ménager who beat a defender to score.
Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images
The back and forth nature of the game continued with Packer next over, after a TMO check, bagging the bonus point along with it. Some skill from Bourdon Sansus ensued next and she thought she had scored after pouncing on a charge-down kick from Holly Aitchison’s boot but the officials ruled it out for offside.
To finish the first-half action, the hooker, Amy Cokayne, who returned to the team after her ban, scored to send England into the break with a 35-14 lead and one hand on the trophy.
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Ireland finished third in the Women's Six Nations after they twice came from behind to beat Scotland 15-12 and secure their qualification for the 2025 World Cup.
Scotland hit the front with the only try of the first half when Elis Martin crossed the whitewash to give them a 5-0 lead at the interval. It took Ireland just one minute of the second half to draw level when Katie Corrigan dotted down in the corner, but Scotland restored their advantage in the 50th minute as Lisa Thomson broke the line and Helen Nelson added the extras to give them a seven-point lead.
With 20 minutes to go, Ireland were on level terms once again following a rolling maul, Cliodhna Moloney barged over the line and Dannah O'Brien successfully kicked the conversion to make it 12-12.
Both teams went in search of a winning score and Ireland got the opportunity when Aoife Wafer helped earn a penalty, with O'Brien making no mistake in slotting over the three points to put her side in front for the first time.
Scotland had a chance to nick it at the end after a scrum penalty then gave Scotland territory with less than five minutes to go, but Ireland stood firm despite Beibhinn Parsons being sent to the sin bin late on.
A record crowd for a women's international at the Principality Stadium saw Wales snatch a last-gasp victory over Italy. Wales had lost their previous four matches in the competition and were staring at another defeat before Sisilia Tuipulotu's try two minutes from time, converted by Lleucu George, earned the hosts a 22-20 win.
Wales took the lead in the 16th minute through a try from hooker Carys Phillips but a minute later the home side lost the ball and Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi ran in, with Beatrice Rigoni's conversion putting Italy ahead. A penalty from Rigoni made it 10-5 at half-time but Wales were back in front within four minutes of the restart, prop Gwenllian Pyrs diving over and Keira Bevan converting.
A Bevan penalty extended the lead to five points but Italy hit back with two tries from Francesca Granzotto and Emma Stevanin before Tuipulotu's last intervention. The result was not enough for Wales to avoid the wooden spoon but the crowd of 10,592 went home happy. PA Media
France’s second half started terribly with the prop Khalfaoui sent to the sin-bin for shoulder-to-head contact, the incident referred to bunker review. It was upgraded to a red card, the announcement met with boos and whistles, making France’s title ambitions that much harder.
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Under the pump being a player down, the crowd became the team’s 15th player, urging on every linebreak and somehow becoming even louder than they had been before. France landed blow after blow to the England defensive line and the Red Roses coughed up numerous penalties that eventually allowed Ménager in for her second.
They couldn’t stage a comeback, could they? They could not make up the scoreboard dent and it widened again with Matthews’s second nailing England’s victory.
The win is the Red Roses’ 29th victory in a row in the tournament and their ever-improving side are showing no signs of relinquishing the record-winning run or the trophy any time soon.